In Love with the Green Machine
by Katariina Sofia
Summary: Tony's cousin comes to visit after the reconstruction of Stark Tower, now called Avenger's Tower. What originally planned to be a few days in the tower became a few months. What happens when she catches the eye of one of the housemates? RATED M!
1. Chapter 1

****I do NOT own the Avengers, Thor, Iron Man or any of the Marvel Characters mentioned. All rights go to their respective owners, especially Stan Lee for the original creation of said characters. This is for personal and entertainment purposes. Please read, review and enjoy!****

* * *

"Come to New York, he said. It will be fun, he said. You can stay with us, he said!" shouted Vanessa as she walked through the streets of a half destroyed Manhattan.

"Are you okay, miss?" Asked an EMT.

"Just fucking peachy. Now point me to Stark Tower," she said. "Or what's left of it."

The EMT did a quick assessment of her while she talked. He then pointed her through another mass of rubble to what was left of Stark Tower.

"When I find Tony he's going to get a piece of my mind!" She said as she walked through the streets.

* * *

**4 Days Earlier**

"Vanessa!" smiled Pepper as she stepped off the elevator. "How was your flight?"

"Long," smiled the brunette setting down her bag. "Where is Tony?"

"He's on his way in now," said Pepper. "He will be here in a few moments."

"What is he doing?" asked Vanessa.

"Flying," said Pepper casually.

"Uh-huh. So where am I staying?" Asked Vanessa.

"The spare room at the end of the hall," said Pepper. "Tony will be in when you get back."

Vanessa nodded as she grabbed her bag and made her way down the hall. She liked visiting Tony. She almost never had to pay for anything or rent a hotel room. Yes, he can be obnoxious most of the time, but she was the only family he had left.

"Hello, Miss Vanessa," said JARVIS.

"Hello JARVIS," said Vanessa as she unpacked her bag.

"Mr. Stark is in now," said JARVIS.

"Thank you," said Vanessa heading back to the living room/lobby.

"Grow a spine JARVIS, I got a date," said Tony as he walked into the building.

"Levels are holding steady, I think," said Pepper as Tony walked over to her.

"Of course they are. I was directly involved in it," said Tony. "Which brings me to my next question. What's it feel like to be a genius?"

"Well, I wouldn't really know, now would I," said Pepper leaning on the desk top.

"All of this, came from you," said Tony.

"No. All of this came from that," said Pepper tapping the arc under his shirt.

"Giver\ yourself some credit," said Tony. "Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself 12%."

"12%..." Said Pepper.

"An argument can be made for 15%," said Tony.

"Wow, Tony," said Vanessa walking into the room. "That's harsh."

"Vanessa?" said Tony looking between her and Pepper. "What a surprise."

"You forgot I was coming, didn't you," said Vanessa walking over to give him a hug.

"I…uh…no," said Tony. "I didn't forget," he said looking over at Pepper.

Pepper rolled her eyes as she grabbed another champagne flute.

"You forgot," said Vanessa pulling away. "It's okay. You must be busy flying about as Iron Man all the time," she said with a chuckle. "So what are we celebrating?" asked Vanessa.

"Stark Tower is now self-sustaining," said Tony with a smile.

"Nice," said Vanessa accepting her flute from Pepper.

"Sir, the telephone. I'm afraid my protocols are being overridden," said JARVIS.

_"Stark, we need to talk,"_ said Agent Coulson on the phone.

Tony reached over and grabbed his phone, "You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark. Please leave a message."

"This is urgent," said Coulson.

"Then leave it urgently," said Tony.

Just then the elevator doors opened.

"Security breach," said Tony. "It was on you," said Tony.

"Phil!" said Pepper. "Come in!"

"I can't stay," said Agent Coulson.

"Phil?" said Tony standing up. "Uh, his first name is Agent."

"Come on in. We're celebrating," said Pepper.

"Which is why you can't stay," said Tony.

"We need you to look this over as soon as possible," said Coulson holding out a file.

"I don't like being handed things," said Tony looking at the file.

"Liar," said Vanessa.

"That's okay, because I love to be handed things, so let's trade," said Pepper handing Agent Coulson her champagne glass and taking the file.

Vanessa smiled as Pepper handed the file off to Tony and took his glass.

"Official consulting hours are between 8 and 5 every other Thursday," said Tony.

"This isn't consultations," said Coulson.

"Is this about the Avenger's?" Asked Pepper. "Which I know nothing about."

"What are the Avengers?" Asked Vanessa.

"Nothing," said Pepper and Tony.

Vanessa stuck her tongue out at Tony as he walked across the room with the file.

"The Avenger's Initiative was scraped, I thought" said Tony. "And I didn't even qualify."

"I didn't know that either," said Pepper.

"Hmm, I wonder why," said Vanessa walking over to Tony's desk.

"Yeah, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, don't play well with others," said Tony.

"That I did know," said Pepper.

"Oh boy is that right," said Vanessa.

"This isn't about personality profiles anymore," said Agent Coulson.

"Whatever. Ms. Potts, got a second?" said Tony looking at the file.

Pepper smiled at Agent Coulson before she walked over to Tony and Vanessa.

"You know, I thought we were having a moment," said Tony.

"I was having 12% of a moment," said Pepper. "This seems serious. Phil's pretty shaken."

"How would you know if it's…Why is he "Phil"?" Asked Tony.

Vanessa rolled her eyes as she peered over his shoulder.

"What is all this?" asked Pepper.

"This is…this," said Tony shifting everything to holoscreens.

"Holy shit," said Vanessa.

"I'm going to take the jet to DC tonight," said Pepper staring at the different screens.

"Tomorrow," said Tony.

"You have homework. You have a lot of homework," said Pepper.

"Well, what if I didn't?" asked Tony.

"If you didn't?" Asked Pepper.

"Yeah."

"You mean, when you've finished? Well, then…" Pepper leaned forward and whispered something in Tony's ear.

"Square deal. Fly safe," said Tony.

"Gross," said Vanessa downing the last of her champagne.

Pepper collected her things and turned to face Vanessa.

"Sorry about all this," said Pepper. "We will have to catch up when he's not busy."

"It's okay," said Vanessa. "Be safe."

The two women hugged before Pepper stepped onto the elevator with Agent Coulson.

"So, what is all this?" Asked Vanessa turning to her cousin.

"I'm not actually sure just yet," he said.

"Is that Dr. Banner?" Asked Vanessa pointing to one of the screens.

"Uh, yeah," said Tony. "How'd you know that?"

"When a big green monster destroys part of Harlem it usually makes the national news," she said. "I'm going to leave you to your fun. Good night.

"Yeah, night," said Tony staring at the screens.

* * *

**Present Day**

"Tony! Tony! Where are you?!" shouted Vanessa as she walked into Tony's apartment.

"Vanessa? Are you okay?!" asked Tony walking around the corner.

"Yeah," she said. "What about you!? Fucking aliens?!"

Tony just shrugged his shoulders

"That's it!? That's all you got is a shoulder shrug?!" shouted Vanessa. "I was almost smushed by a fucking building and that's all you got!?"

"You're okay, aren't you?" Said Tony.

"Physically, yes," said Vanessa. "Mentally, I'm not quite sure yet."

"Okay, take a breath and relax," said Tony. "Grab a drink and calm down."

"I think I'm going to go back home," said Vanessa.

"What? No, you just got here," said Tony.

"Yes, under the guise of a relatively safe New York," said Vanessa. "Not an impending alien attack."

"We didn't know it was going to happen until after you showed up," said Pepper. "Now, you can a help me with color schemes for the reconstruction."

Vanessa sat for a moment and thought on it. "Fine, but y'all are so making this up to me."

Pepper laughed as she grabbed the swatches and sat down on the couch.

* * *

**6 Months Later**

"You're here!" smiled Pepper as Vanessa stepped off the elevator.

"Yeah, reluctantly," said Vanessa.

"What do you mean?" asked Pepper.

"Tony threatened to fly out, a la Iron Man, and bring me back," said Vanessa.

"Ah, that's what he was muttering about the other day then," smiled Pepper.

"The place looks good," said Vanessa. "Turned our well."

"Yeah, I think so, too," said Pepper. "We've redone a few of the floors for the team to stay in."

"Team?" asked Vanessa.

"Uh, Tony didn't tell you?" asked Pepper.

"Tell me what?" asked Vanessa.

"It is no longer _Stark Tower_," said Pepper. "It's _Avengers Tower_."

"Ah, so the _team_ is going to be here," said Vanessa. "I think I will find a hotel to stay in."

"Nonsense," said Tony walking into the room. "You're going to stay here. There is more than enough room. Made sure of that myself," he said with a cocky smile.

"Lovely," said Vanessa rolling her eyes. "So where is my room?"

"Down the hall there is another elevator. You are on floor five, on the right," said Pepper.

"I have half a floor to myself? Damn, you sure did make sure there was room," laughed Vanessa as she made her way down the hall.


	2. Chapter 2

Vanessa took her time unpacking her bags. As excited as she was to see the renovations she wasn't too keen on meeting the whole team at once. Pepper had stopped by to let her know that everyone was moving in that day or the next.

She sighed as she slid her empty suitcase under the bed. She looked around the large room. To her back were the door and a large bookshelf. She had browsed the books when she first came in; Tony had put them there for her. She couldn't see anyone else reading Simon R. Green's _Nightside_ Series. She had to chuckle at that. In front of her was the large queen sized bed and across from that was a mini lounge area. The _mini_ part was a lie considering there were a full sized couch and a coffee table with a 52" TV hanging from the wall. She shook her head. Tony always did go all out. She had a wall of windows, which upon asking JARVIS to close the blinds the windows tinted a dark color. She could still see out, but, hopefully, no one could see in. And in the back corner of the suite was a small kitchenette, complete with stove, microwave, toaster, coffee pot, dishwasher and bar to eat at.

_Go big or go home, huh._ She thought as she looked through the shiny new equipment. As she made her way to the couch she noticed that there was no laundry in her room. She had everything else but that. She would have to ask Tony about that later. She was about to settle into watching some TV when there was a knock at her door. She frowned. If it had been Tony he would've just barged right in, regardless of if she was changing or not. She laid the remote down and cracked the door slightly. It was Pepper.

"Can I come in?" she asked with a smile on her face.

Vanessa nodded and swung the door open more. Pepper closed it behind her before she sat on the couch.

"Did you find everything okay?" asked Pepper politely.

Vanessa chuckled. "Yeah, but I did notice something," she said.

"What?" said Pepper.

"No laundry," said Vanessa.

Pepper chuckled. "Tony has convinced his laundress to do everyone's clothes. Dry clean or not. She is getting a considerable pay bump for it as well."

"I can do my own laundry. I only plan on staying for a few days," said Vanessa.

Pepper nodded like she knew something she wasn't telling. "If you don't wish to use it, there is a laundry room down the hall on the left for emergency washing."

"Emergency washing?" asked Vanessa.

"As in _'OMG! I have not underwear because my clothes still haven't come back and I can't go around commando!'_ emergency washing," smiled Pepper.

"Had a bad experience with that, did ya?" chuckled Vanessa.

Pepper nodded as she laughed. "Yes, it was my idea to have at least one unit in the building that we could all use. But I came up here to let you know that Tony is wanting a formal-ish dinner tonight. Dress casual but everyone should be there. See you at six-thirty."

Pepper stood up and walked out of the room with a smile on her face. Vanessa shook her head as she looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was five-thirty now. She had an hour to get changed and to dinner. She stood up and looked around the room. That was something she didn't look for, a bathroom.

"Uh, JARVIS, a little help," she said turning in circles.

"Next to your bed, Ms. Vanessa," replied the AI.

A small cracked appeared in the wall next to the bed. She walked over and pushed it open to reveal a full bathroom, complete with Jacuzzi tub. She walked over to the sink to notice some toiletries already placed to one side of the very large counter.

"You share this with Ms. Darcy Lewis," said JARVIS before she could ask. "She is Dr. Jane Foster's Lab Assistant."

Vanessa nodded as she retrieved her toiletries bag from her bed. She hoped Darcy's door was locked since there were no handles to check. She sighed as she jumped in the shower to hose off before she went to dinner. This was going to be an interesting experience.

"He probably ordered take out," chuckled Vanessa as she rinsed the soap from her body."

* * *

**Dinner**

"Where is she?" asked Tony pouring a tumbler of scotch.

"She's coming," said Pepper.

"JARVIS, where is Vanessa at now?" asked Tony.

"Ms. Jones is leaving her room as we speak, sir," said JARVIS.

"Told ya," said Pepper.

Tony rolled his eyes as they walked around the bar and over to the large dining table.

"Who is Vanessa?" asked Darcy sitting down next to Jane who had her nose buried in a manila folder.

"Tony's cousin," said Pepper taking her seat.

Just as Pepper sat down Vanessa walked around the corner and into the room. Pepper stood up again and walked over to her. Tony was digging white boxes out of two large brown paper bags. Vanessa couldn't help but chuckle at this.

"What's so funny," asked Tony opening one of the boxes.

"I just knew you were going to order take out," laughed Vanessa as Pepper showed her to her seat.

Vanessa was sitting to Pepper's right and Darcy's left. Pepper was sitting next to Tony, who was occupying the head of the table. To his left was an empty seat and next to that was Steve Rogers, Captain America. Next to him was Clint, then Natasha. On the other side of Darcy was Jane and at the very end across from Tony was Thor.

Tony started passing boxes around the table and people were grabbing some and passing other. Every box she got she passed on down the table. Tony chuckled and slid a plastic plate towards her and Pepper handed her a set of chopsticks.

"We didn't forget about you," said Pepper setting a box down in front of Vanessa

Vanessa popped the top on the plate and was staring at 12 California Sushi Rolls. She opened the white box with a smile to see it packed full of Chicken Lo Mein. Tony nodded to her before they dug into their respective boxes of take out.

"So, how are you related to Mr. Stark?" asked Steve.

Vanessa swallowed the mouthful of noodles before she answered. "He is my cousin on his mother's side."

"Where are you from?" asked Darcy around a mouth full of food.

"Tennessee," answered Vanessa.

"What do you do for a living?" asked Jane, who had finally set aside her folder.

Vanessa stayed quiet for a moment. "At the moment I'm unemployed," she said with a slight frown.

"Why? What happened?" asked Pepper.

"Well, the company I worked for was, kind of," she started.

"Kind of what?" asked Tony.

"Destroyed by a giant alien slug," she said finally looking poignantly at Tony. "It was based in New York and had freelancers in other states. They chose not to rehire the freelancers after the rebuild."

"Oh," said Tony. "Sorry 'bout that."

Vanessa nodded and ate another sushi roll.

"So, on to something else," said Pepper changing the subject. "Have you heard from Dr. Banner yet?"

"No. He's avoiding my calls," said Tony. "Don't know why?"

Vanessa chuckled as she took a drink of her water.

"What?" said Tony.

"_Mr. I Don't Play Well With Others_," said Vanessa.

"Hush," said Tony tossing a fortune cookie at her. "I'll have you know that everyone at this table likes me."

Vanessa looked up and saw a few smirks and chuckles from a couple of people.

"Everyone at this table, excluding Pepper, tolerates you," she said. "I have to because you are family."

"Harsh," chuckled Tony. "But seriously. He won't answer the phone so I don't know what's going on. I'm going to have JARVIS hack into his security system and see what's going on myself."

"Or, you could just, oh I don't know, go knock on his door like a normal person," said Vanessa. "But then again, doing it this way you won't have the door slammed in your face, because he obviously wants to be left alone."

"I think someone needs some sleep," said Tony.

Vanessa rolled her eyes and grabbed the last of her noodles before she left the table, and the room altogether.

"Tony," said Pepper.

"What? She was the one being snarky not me," said Tony.

"Family," said Pepper. "Remember what that means to her."

Tony sighed and stood up from the table and followed his cousin to her room.

* * *

**Vanessa's Room**

"Vanessa?" said Tony knocking on the door once before opening it.

"At least you knocked and attempted polite courtesy," said Vanessa flipping through the channels.

"I'm sorry about what I said," said Tony sitting down beside her. "We're going to have movie night tomorrow if you want to join."

Vanessa sat there a moment, "You're going to pay for all of us to go to the movies?"

"Psh, no," said Tony scoffing. "I have a theater here," he said rolling his eyes. "To include movie theater popcorn and butter and snacks galore," he said nudging her side.

Vanessa glared at him for a moment before she answered him, "Fine. But only if I get my own bucket. I don't share well."

Tony chuckled and agreed.

"Sir, I hate to interrupt, but Dr. Banner is on the phone," said JARVIS.

"Right," said Tony.

Tony reached across Vanessa and picked up a red and black piece of metal. He tapped it once with his thumb and it lit up to reveal a small cell phone. He hit another button before he started speaking.

"Yo, this is Stark," he said.

"You called me twelve times?" said Dr. Banner.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you got the invitation to move into the tower with the rest of the team and movie night tomorrow night.

She could hear a sigh on the other end of the phone. Before he could reject both ideas Tony started talking again.

"If you won't agree to move in, then at least come to movie night. It will be fun. We'll watch really funny movies and shit like that. We'll have movie theater popcorn," he said.

There was another sigh and an agreement from Dr. Banner. Tony smiled victoriously before dropping the phone on the table in front of them. Vanessa rolled her eyes as she shooed him out of the room so she could sleep.

Vanessa changed clothes for bed and turned off the TV. As she climbed in bed she went to set the alarm but couldn't find any buttons on the clock. She rolled her eyes. _Only Tony._

"JARVIS, can you set an alarm for seven-thirty tomorrow morning for me?" she asked.

"Certainly Ms. Jones," said JARVIS.

She smiled and nodded as she burrowed into the sheets and blankets. The lights dimmed around her enough so it wasn't too bright but she would be able to see if she woke up in the middle of the night.

"Good night JARVIS," said Vanessa.

"Good night, Ms. Jones."


	3. Chapter 3

At 7:30am a slightly alarming tone sounded through her room. It was enough to jar Vanessa from her sleep, but not loud enough to wake up the whole floor. She groaned as she sat up in her bed.

"I'm up. You can turn it off," she said as she swung her feet over the edge of the bed.

Once she was up she made her way around her bed to find the bathroom door had been opened for her. She grunted her thanks to the AI before she disappeared to get ready for the day.

* * *

JARVIS is there a gym here?" she asked as she stepped out of the bathroom in a towel.

"Mr. Stark has a weight room present in the building," said JARVIS. "Would you like me to direct you there?"

"How about somewhere to do Yoga?" asked Vanessa.

It was quiet for a moment before JARVIS answered. "The living room has adequate enough space for an activity such as that."

"Thank you," she said.

She hadn't thought to bring her mat with her so she would just have to do without for a few days. She quickly changed into her workout clothes and made her way to the living room. She had JARVIS play soft music as she started her stretches. She had been at it for only ten minutes when the elevators opened up.

There was a startled grunt and a chuckle.

"What are you doing?" asked Tony, the owner of the chuckle.

"Yoga, what's it look like I'm doing," said moving into her next position.

"And what do you call that one?" asked Tony.

Vanessa sighed as she came out of the Downward Facing Dog and turned to look at her cousin. When she did she realized that the grunt/gasp had belonged to someone else. Just guessing she had to say it was the elusive Dr. Banner. She nodded to him before addressing Tony.

"You are really ruining my morning," she said.

"I have a gym for that," said Tony.

"JARVIS told me I would have room here," she said. "I didn't just plant myself here for no reason."

"Did you get dressed in the dark?" asked Tony eying her outfit.

"What? I always wear this when I work out," she said looking down at her outfit. She had on purple Yoga pants with a dark green sports bra on top. She wasn't going to change what she wore just because she was staying at Tony's.

"Wear more clothes next time," said Tony before he and Dr. Banner started to leave. "Oh, before I forget, come to the lab at some point today. I want to show you something."

"Am I going to have to find a flame retardant suit to wear?"

Dr. Banner let out a chuckle that she would've missed if it hadn't been so quiet in the room. She smiled at him before Tony tossed a pen at her. She caught it and stuck her tongue out at him as they left the room.

* * *

"I heard you upset Tony," said Pepper walking into the kitchen.

"Eh," said Vanessa shrugging her shoulders as she poured more coffee into her cup. "He brought it on himself."

Pepper chuckled as she emptied the coffee pot and started to make more. "What happened?"

"I was doing Yoga in the living room and he walked in and saw me," said Vanessa shrugging her shoulders. "If he had something other than a weight room I would do it there, but JARIVS said I would have room in the living room so I went for it. Then he made a comment about my outfit," she said gesturing to the clothes she has on.

Pepper shook her head as she finished her coffee. "I have a guest pass to the gym I go to down the street. You can use it if you want."

"Thanks, but I think I will have more fun messing with Tony then doing the actual exercises," said Vanessa putting her cup in the sink.

Pepper shook her head before she disappeared from the kitchen and into the elevator. Vanessa sighed as she turned to face the fridge. She cocked her head to the side as she opened it and looked at the food that was inside. After a moment she pulled out everything she would need to cook breakfast.

* * *

"Something smells good," said Darcy walking into the kitchen. "What'cha cooking?" she asked as she pulled a box of poptarts from the cabinet next to the stove.

"Food," chuckled Vanessa as she dumped a large amount of scrambled eggs onto a platter. "Poptarts? Really? That stuff is bad for you."

"Unfortunately they aren't for me. Jane is headed to the lab early this morning and she needs to eat something," said Darcy. "I hid them from her so she wouldn't hole up in the lab with them and never come out."

Vanessa chuckled. "Tell her to bring her butt by here before she goes to the lab," she said taking the poptarts from Darcy. "If she wants them she can come get them. Here, eat," she said handing Darcy a plate of food.

Darcy chuckled as she sat down at the bar and started to eat. After a moment or two Jane made her way into the kitchen. She glared at Darcy who was stuffing her face with pancakes. She walked around the bar and into the kitchen. She spotted the poptarts on the counter. When she went to grab for them she was handed a plate.

"Sit and eat, then you can play," said Vanessa pointing to the spot next to Darcy.

"I have a lot of work…" started Jane.

"Eat," said Vanessa. "Or I will find a way to have JARVIS lock you out of the lab."

Jane relented and sat down to eat. Darcy reached across the bar and grabbed one of the waffles that Vanessa had just made.

"You made a lot of food," said Darcy. "What for?"

"I wanted breakfast and I thought it would be rude to have all this nice food and not share," she said. "If y'all are anything like Tony you survive on take out most of the time, or poptarts," she said putting the tin foil package back in the cabinet.

"What did you do to my kitchen!?" shouted Tony walking in. "Are those pancakes?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"They have cinnamon in them," said Darcy.

"OOO," said Tony grabbing a plate before sitting down at the table. "Hey, Clint! There's food in here!"

A man walked into the kitchen after a moment. He looked mad, even when he surveyed all the food that Vanessa had made. He "hmphed" before he grabbed a box of cereal from the cabinet and poured a bowl. Vanessa just stared at him while he ate it. After a few minutes he put the bowl in the sink and left the kitchen without a word.

"Well isn't he a ball of sunshine," said Vanessa grabbing her own plate and sitting down.

"What is this magnificent feast for? What are we celebrating?" asked Thor as he walked into the kitchen without a shirt on.

Vanessa choked on her pancakes when she looked up and saw him. She grabbed a glass of water and quickly washed the pancakes out of her windpipe.

"There is no celebration, honey," said Jane cleaning her plate at the sink. "It's breakfast. Here, eat something."

Jane quickly fixed a plate for Thor. She basically put four servings of everything on a plate and set it at the bar. Thor smiled as she placed a cup of coffee in front of him as well. She kissed the side of his head before she disappeared out of the kitchen to head to the lab.

"That reminds me, you still have to come by the lab," said Tony. "In fact, make a plate and follow me."

"I'm slightly afraid if I am bringing food with me," said Vanessa as she grabbed a plate loaded with food and followed Tony out of the kitchen.

* * *

"Where the hell are we?" asked Vanessa when they stepped off the elevator.

"Research and Development, lovingly called The Dungeon by almost everyone here," said Tony with a smirk.

"The Dungeon? Or do I wanna know what you're researching down here?" asked Vanessa as she followed him through the halls.

"Funny," said Tony rolling his eyes. "Most of the people don't leave here for some reason. It's not like I force them to stay and work. Take Jane for instance. She has come to work on furthering her work with Einstein-Rosen Bridges, she barely leaves the lab even though her lover boy is back. And Bruce, he stays here until the wee hours of the morning before leaving and then is back bright and early the next day. Therefore, The Dungeon," said Tony as he stuck his thumb to a scanner. "Remind me to have this set up for you. Would come in handy instead of having to track me down to get somewhere other than the penthouse."

"Tony, I'm going to be here for a few days," said Vanessa following him into the lab. "I don't need to be added to the thumb print scanner list. I think I can survive staying out of the labs for a few days."

"Nonsense," said Tony ignoring everything she said and scanning her thumb prints into the computer. "See, not that hard. JARVIS now has all your prints from…you were arrested? What did you do?"

"It's nothing…" started Vanessa.

"NESSA! You were…that's just…we're definitely family…" said Tony.

"Drunk and disorderly does not make us family," said Vanessa.

"No, but the lewd comments you made to the press probably solidify it," chuckled Tony reading the article.

"I do believe there was a reason you brought me down here," said Vanessa waving the food in his face.

"Right. Take that over there. Knock on the glass to get his attention. He should come take it from you," said Tony gesturing to a glass wall surrounding another office.

Vanessa huffed and headed over to the glass wall. When she reached it she peered inside but didn't see anyone. She lifted her hand and knocked once when she heard something clatter. She frowned and looked for a door. She noticed and thin handle on part of the glass and pushed on it. The almost invisible door swung open and she walked into the lab.

"Hello?" she said still holding the plate. "Is someone in here?"

There were various machines set up on tables that she had trouble seeing what was on the other side. She walked around one of the long tables and came across a desk cluttered with mound of paperwork. Sitting at the desk, sans shirt, was Dr. Banner. He had his fists clenched and sitting on the desk.

"UH, blames Tony," she said quickly. "I have waffles…"

His hands unclenched as he grabbed his lab coat and pulled it on trying to cover himself as he stood up. "Waffles? Why?"

"I made breakfast and Tony brought me down here with a plate loaded with food," she said gesturing to the plate, "That and he scanned my thumb and known my dirty laundry," she said with a half smirk.

"Tony does that smirk," said Bruce. He cleared his throat again before he started talking. "Uh, you can just leave it there. I will get to it eventually," he said nodding to an empty spot on one of the tables.

"Right, just like you got this sandwich…what a month ago?" she asked holding up a bag with an unidentifiable sandwich cover in mold in it. "I think you should eat this now. I'll not have all this good food go to waste."

Bruce started to object when she set a stool in front of the plate and stood off to the side and crossed her arms.

"I'm just as stubborn as Tony," she said. "If not worse."

Just then one of his machines beeped grabbing his attention. Vanessa knew it was a lost cause at the point. She left the plate and grabbed the bag with two fingers before she left the lab.

"Do you have a hazmat bucket around here?" she asked walking over to Tony's work table.

"Uh…what is that?" asked Tony pointing to the sandwich.

"I think it used to be ham and cheese," she said. "I'm not too sure right now, but I'm sure you could cure a few diseases with all this penicillin."

Tony chuckled. "The bucket it over there," he said pointing to a rather large hazmat trashcan.

"Have need of that often?" she asked as she dropped the sandwich inside.

"Eh," said Tony shrugging his shoulders.

"If you don't need me I'm going back upstairs," said Vanessa heading towards the door.

Tony waved her off as she left the lab. He was too engrossed in his work to pay attention. Vanessa found the elevator and stepped inside. She pushed the button for the penthouse. She had zoned out as the elevator climbed up the skyscraper. She was knocked out of her daydream when it stopped and opened up on a floor that was not the penthouse. In stepped Clint. She pressed the button for the penthouse as well and the doors slowly closed. It was silent for the first two floors.

"You got a problem with my cooking?" she said turning to face him.

"What?" he said finally looking at her.

"You practically ignored the humongous breakfast that I made for fucking Lucky Charms," she said waving her arms around. "Who does that?"

"I was late," he said shrugging his shoulders.

"For what? What's on that floor?" asked Vanessa.

"Combat training," Clint said shrugging his shoulders. "Weight room, gym, hand-to-hand training space."

"Gym? Like wide open space?" she asked.

"Uh, sure," said Clint. "But you can't get to it."

"And why not?" she asked as the elevator came to a stop.

"Thumb print access only," he said with a smirk as he stepped off the elevator.

Vanessa smirked as she followed him off. She found the other elevator and went to her room. First thing tomorrow she was going to that gym.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update! I wanted to give everyone time to vote in the poll. I have made my decision and hopefully that will be made evident in the next few chapters. Enjoy! ~Kat**


	4. Chapter 4

"So are you going to cook dinner tonight?" asked Tony walking into the living room.

"I do believe it is movie night," said Vanessa looking up from her book. "And I plan on eating popcorn," she said with a smile. "So what movie is it tonight?"

"Miss Congeniality," said Pepper walking into the living room. "One of Tony's favorites," she said with a chuckle.

"Hey…it is not…" said Tony unbelievably. "Whatever, where is Barton? JARVIS?"

"Agent Barton is still in his room, sir," answered the AI. "Shall I page him?"

"No, it's good," said Tony.

"Very well, sir," said JARVIS.

"Vanessa, go fetch," said Tony.

"Do I look like a dog?" she said looking at her cousin. "And if you say yes, you best be able to get into that suit of yours, otherwise you are dead meat."

Tony chuckled and tossed a pillow at her. "We will be down the hall in the movie room."

Vanessa rolled her eyes as she headed for the elevator. She punched in the floor Clint was on and waited. The doors opened and she walked down the hall to his room. She was one floor up from him exactly. She would've knocked on the door, but the door was standing wide open. She looked in and saw him doing pull ups on a bar hanging from the ceiling. She watched as the muscles in his back flexed and he pulled himself up and dropped back down.

"Damn…" she said.

This let Clint know she was standing there. He dropped from the bar and turned to look at her. He grabbed a towel and wiped his face before quickly running it over his sweat covered chest.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Uh…Tony…movie…you…" she said still staring at his chest.

"I think I'll pass," he said tossing the towel into a laundry basket. "Not big on chick flicks."

Vanessa nodded as he disappeared into the bathroom. She shook her head and turned from the door.

"Da fuck was that?" she said to herself as she walked down the hall to the elevator.

She shook her head again as she stepped in and rode the elevator down to the main floor. She found the movie room easily enough. She took a deep breath to regain her composure before she walked in and joined the group.

"Where is Clint?" asked Tony.

"Ditched us," she said "Doesn't do chuck flicks."

"Ha," said Darcy standing up. "You owe me more waffles if I get him down here."

"Deal," said Vanessa a Darcy disappeared from the room.

When Darcy returned, with Clint in tow, they were already fifteen minutes into the movie. Darcy took her seat on the couch and Clint sat on the floor in front of her. He did not look happy to be there. As the popcorn bowl was passed around he snatched it and held it hostage. Vanessa smiled and got up to make more.

When she got to the kitchen she saw Dr. Banner sitting at the bar with a cup of tea. She grabbed the popcorn out of the cabinet and stuck it in the microwave before she turned to stare at the genius. It only took a moment for him to look up at her.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked. "Movie is out there."

"Wanted some tea," he said motioning towards the cup.

"Could've brought it back in there," she said.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Even Clint is in there," she said taking the popcorn out of the microwave before putting another bag in. "Darcy is a miracle worker on that one."

Bruce chuckled.

"What? What's so funny?" asked Vanessa pouring the first bag of popcorn into a bowl.

"It's…it's nothing," said Bruce.

"Nuh-uh," said Vanessa sitting beside him. "It has to be something if it made the oh, so serious, Bruce Banner laugh."

"I don't think I'm supposed to know," he said.

"OH!" she said rather loudly. "Oops. They're fuckin' aren't they?!" This time she was more quite about her exclamation.

Bruce's face turned a nice shade of pink at her choice of words. He cleared his through before speaking, "For a lack of a better term, yes…they are."

"And how did you find this out?" she asked with a smile.

Before she could answer the microwave beeped at her again. She sighed as she stood up to grab the bag and empty it. When she turned around Dr. Banner was gone.

When she finally returned to the movie room the bowl that Clint had confiscated was empty and Tony was mad. Tony snatched the bowl from her hands and started in on the popcorn. Vanessa handed the other to Steve before she took Clint's bowl to make another bag of popcorn. This one didn't take as long, but by the time she returned to watch the movie they were putting in something else. She sighed as she sat down in her spot to settle into the new movie.

* * *

"What now?" asked Tony.

"Tony, it is going on one in the morning. I think we all would like to get some sleep," said Vanessa.

There was a rumble of agreements from the tired group. Tony huffed but conceded and they all went off to their respective rooms. Vanessa stumbled into her room half asleep.

"Should I set your alarm?" asked JARVIS.

Vanessa groaned. "Yes, please."

"Very well," said JARVIS as he dimmed the lights.

* * *

Seven-thirty came all too quickly the next morning. Vanessa begrudgingly rolled out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom for her morning shower. Being half awake she wasn't paying attention to if Darcy was in the shared bathroom.

"Oh, sweet baby Jesus!" shouted Vanessa as she ran from the room, slamming the bathroom door behind her.

She grabbed her yoga mat and left her room, forgoing her shower that morning. Still a bit dazed she set up her mat in the living room and started in on her stretches. It was only a few minutes later that Darcy came walking out into the living room.

"Uh, hey…" said Darcy spotting Vanessa.

"Uh…hi…" replied Vanessa just as awkwardly.

"Look, about…" started Darcy.

"Hey, whatever floats your boat," said Vanessa. "I'm not gonna tell anyone. But that was definitely not a side of you I wanted to see."

Darcy chuckled, "Sorry, though."

"Hey, I got to see Clint's ass, I aint sorry," chuckled Vanessa.

Darcy laughed, which is what Vanessa was going for. They shared another awkward moment before Vanessa said she would cook breakfast in an hour or so. Darcy smiled and reminded her of the extra waffles she was owed.

"I didn't forget," said Vanessa as she continued her yoga.

* * *

"How come Darcy is the only one to get waffles this morning," said Tony trying to snake one of the waffles.

"Because I owed her waffles," said Vanessa swatting his hand away. "You have pancakes," she said handing him a plate.

Tony smiled as he walked away with the plate.

"You have to share!" shouted Vanessa as he walked into the dining room.

The rest of the group filed in shortly after with the exception of Dr. Banner. Vanessa frowned but continued handing food off to people. Once everything was done, she joined the group at the table and they ate breakfast.

"Where is Bruce?" asked Darcy.

"He's still in the lab," said Jane. "I went down early this morning and it looked like he never left from last night."

"Nessa, grab food and follow me," said Tony standing up.

"Can't you take him food?" I would like to eat my breakfast too, ya know."

"I'm taking coffee," said Tony sticking out his tongue. "I can't carry it all down there myself."

Vanessa rolled her eyes as she loaded a plate of food and grabbed a glass of orange juice before following Tony to the elevator. Once on Tony punched the floor for R&D and they slowly rode down.

"So what ensures I get waffles?" asked Tony.

"Make a bet with me, and I lose?" she said. "That's what Darcy did."

"Huh," said Tony thoughtfully. "I bet I know something you don't know."

"Oh really?" said Vanessa with a smile. "What do you get if you win?"

"Waffles for a week," said Tony.

"And if I win, you don't bitch about me doing yoga in the living room," said Vanessa.

"Deal," said Tony with a smirk. "Care to take a guess at what it is?"

Vanessa smiled. "Darcy and Clint are fucking?" she said as the elevator opened up to R&D.

"What…how did…how did you know that!?" said Tony miffed. "You've only been here two days!"

"I walked in on them this morning in the shower," said Vanessa. "And I got it out of Dr. Banner by accident last night while I was making more popcorn.

"Not fair!" said Tony. "You knew already! It doesn't count!"

Vanessa laughed as she followed him into the lab that Dr. Banner, Jane and Tony used. Tony motioned for her to wait by the door as he walked towards Bruce who had his back to the door. Tony grabbed something off his desk as he approached the man in question. Vanessa watched as Tony stuck the pen shaped object into Dr. Banner's side. The man jumped knocking a mug to the floor. He had apparently been asleep. Tony jumped back, dropping the pot of coffee to the floor.

"Uh, now would be a good time to leave," said Tony, not looking at Vanessa. "Hit the big green button on your way out, please."

Vanessa turned to see a button encased in a plastic shield next to the lab door. She set her plate down and walked over to it. She lifted the lid and hit the button. She expected to hear an alarm, but all it did was flash at her. She turned to see Tony trying not to run over to his desk, grabbing his bracelets along the way. Her gaze then fell to Dr. Banner. He was standing next to his desk and breathing hard. She slowly made her way to him.

"Nessa! Don't!" shouted Tony when he saw her. "Get out of here!"

Vanessa ignored him, although her mind was telling her to run, her body wasn't listening. She reached out and touched Bruce's shoulder. He jerked his head towards her. Instead of seeing his brown eyes, they were a light shade of green. She started to pull her hand back, but lightly touched his shoulder again.

"Bruce?" she asked with a shaky voice. "Bruce, are you okay?"

He stared at her for a minute, but his breathing didn't change. Slowly his eyes were turning a darker shade of green.

"Nessa, back away slowly," said Tony, now fully suited up as Iron Man.

Bruce turned to look at Tony when he spoke and grunted in anger. Tony stopped talking and slowly tried to make his way over to his cousin.

"You should really, _really_, leave now," said Tony touching Vanessa's arm.

Vanessa turned to look at Tony and spotted the rest of the group running towards the office.

_Must have been a silent alarm. Makes sense, wouldn't want to piss the volatile doctor off any more than he already is_, she thought.

About the time she turned back towards Bruce and Tony Bruce had spotted the group and his breathing was picking up and he was starting to shake. Vanessa, not always the brightest crayon in the box moved between Bruce and the glass door so that he was focusing on her. She heard the door open and Thor shout, it was hard not to miss it. Bruce let out a scream in return and grabbed his head. Vanessa grabbed his hands and pulled them away from his face before she grabbed his face.

"Best offence is a good defense, and when that doesn't work you take them by surprise," she said.

It took Tony a minute to realize what she was talking about. Vanessa grabbed Bruce's face and pulled him into a kiss. The group had stopped running and talking and were just staring at her. When she pulled back she still held his face in her hands. The rage that she had seen in his eyes before was turning to confusion. She smiled at him weakly as she let go of his face and stepped back from him.

Slowly his breathing returned to normal and the green tint was gone from his eyes. Tony stepped between them at that point and someone closed their hand around Vanessa's arm. She turned to see Captain America standing next to her. She noticed he had a slight pink shade to his face. She smirked as she let him lead her way from the lab.

Once she was deposited outside the lab, with Jane and Darcy, she let out the breath she had been holding.

"Guess that's one way to calm the beast," chuckled Darcy.

Vanessa smiled and lightly smacked Darcy's arm.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this long awaited chapter! I decided to use Bruce because there just aren't enough stories about him. Please review! ~Kat**


	5. Chapter 5

"You have a lot of explaining to do!" shouted Tony when he reached the communal living room.

Darcy, Jane, Pepper, and Vanessa were all sitting on the couch when the group, sans Bruce, had come back to the penthouse.

"Have you lost your freaking mind?!" shouted Tony. "He could've killed you!"

"He could've done the same to you," said Vanessa calmly.

"Yeah, but I can at least defend myself," he said motioning to the suit he was still wearing. "You cannot!"

"Gee, thanks," said Vanessa.

"You've seen what he can do!" shouted Tony.

"I think you should stop shouting," said Vanessa.

"Like hell! I won't until you give me a damn good reason why you didn't leave when I fucking told you to!"

"Hmm," said Vanessa. "You know what I think? I think it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't poked him with the stick-pen of yours!" shouted Vanessa, now standing toe to toe with her cousin. "It happened because you are fucking idiot!"

Tony opened his mouth to say something, but closed it. She had a point. Tony huffed and disappeared from the living room to change out of the suit. Vanessa glared at the rest of the group daring them to say something to her. They slowly left to change clothes as well. Vanessa nodded her head once before she collapsed on the couch.

"So what happened up here?" asked Vanessa surveying the room.

Darcy laughed. "We were having a quiet and peaceful breakfast, for once. Then this bright green light started flashing and everyone jumped up. Thor knocked the table over in his hurry to get mew-mew…"

"Mew-mew?" asked Vanessa.

"Mjölnir," said Jane swatting Darcy's arm.

"Ah," sad Vanessa.

"So…what's it like kissing the doctor?" asked Darcy.

Vanessa turned a slight shade of red. "It was…well…his lips were chapped," she said with a chuckle. "And it was a little embarrassing since _everyone_ was there watching. But it was the only thing I could think of that would confuse him and not piss him off more than he already was."

"Good idea," said Darcy.

"In theory, but how did you know it was going to work? Tony was right, you could've been hurt or killed. And think about how Bruce would feel when he found out that he'd been the one to do it," said Jane. "Tony may be a pain in the ass, but sometimes he's right. The team knows how to handle Bruce when he has…an episode…"

"An episode? You make it sound like he's epileptic," said Vanessa. "When he has "episodes" he's liable to destroy the whole fucking building. I saw what he did to Harlem. I'm not stupid, but he hadn't got that far. Yeah, I probably should've listened to Tony, but if I had done that we would probably be staying in a hotel instead of in our own beds. Now tell me I'm wrong."

All three women sat silent. Vanessa knew the truth. Banner would've most definitely destroyed R&D and possibly more of the tower if she'd left it to Tony and the team to deal with. With a sigh she closed her eyes and tried to relax. Just because Tony had stalked off did not mean they were through with the argument.

None of them had heard the elevator ding or the doors open. Bruce had stayed quiet the whole time listening to the women talk. He took in the over turned breakfast table and the food and plates scattered across the floor. He listened to what Vanessa had said about Harlem, she was right. He was liable to destroy the building during and "episode." He sighed and disappeared from the room never once disturbing the girls.

* * *

"Okay, so what is the plan for tonight?" asked Darcy walking into Vanessa's room.

"Sleep?" said Vanessa dropping her towel in to the laundry basket.

"Can't. Clint and Natasha are on a mission," said Darcy.

"He stays in your room?" asked Vanessa.

"Eh," said Darcy waving her hand from side to side in a "so-so" manner. "He goes to his room and then climbs through the air ducts to mine. He almost dropped in on you the other night by accident."

"How lovely," said Vanessa.

"He wasn't thinking straight," she said with a slight grin.

"You really have a hold on him don't you," chuckled Vanessa.

"I have boobs don't I," laughed Darcy. "Anyway, Jane and I were thinking about going out on the town. Give the team a change to collect themselves."

"I'm good. I think I have worn out my welcome with Tony," said Vanessa. "I have a flight out tomorrow morning. It was really nice meeting you."

"Same. Send me your waffle recipe," said Darcy before she disappeared out the door.

Vanessa shook her head as she climbed into bed. The lights dimmed and she closed her eyes.

* * *

Vanessa was woken up by a red flashing light accompanied by a blaring alarm. She tossed her covers off as slipped on her flats. Just as she opened the door Darcy came running in and slammed it closed.

"Da fuck is going on?" asked Vanessa as she stared at the other woman.

"Loki," rasped out Darcy.

"Who?" asked Vanessa.

"Giant Aliens attack New York?" she said. "He was behind it."

"Oh, so bad guy," said Vanessa.

"Uber bad guy," said Darcy.

There was a rapid knock at the door and Darcy jerked it open and pulled a body through the small opening. It was Dr. Foster.

"What is going on?" asked Vanessa over the screeching alarm.

"Loki has apparently broken out of Asgardian Prison and come back with a vengeance. He's somewhere in the building, but no one knows where at. And he's not happy with Thor," said Jane.

"Okay," said Vanessa. "So why are we still in the building?"

"Lock down," said Jane with a frown. "Tony didn't think that one through. Apparently once the alarm is tripped the _whole_ building goes into lockdown. No one in and no one out."

"Brilliant, Tony," said Vanessa. "Right. JARVIS?"

"Yes?" he said, barely heard over the alarm.

"Is there a safe room in this building or should we just stay holed up in my bedroom?" she asked.

There was a pause, "There is a safe room on the Research and Development floor. The elevators are not working at the moment."

"Great. That four floors down from the penthouse, and we have to take the stairs the whole way," said Vanessa grabbing a jacket. "You up for a jaunt through hostile territory?"

The two women stared at her. Darcy started to smile at the idea, but Jane was sinking into one of the chairs. Suddenly there was a loud banging sound followed by a thunderous yell. The Hulk was running around their floor.

"This is going to be fun," said Vanessa sarcastically. "You coming doc, or are you gonna hang with the Hulk?"

Jane jumped up quickly when they heard him yell again. Vanessa jerked the door open and all three women ran for the emergency stairwell. Vanessa kicked the handle free and pushed the door open. Darcy and Jane ran through followed by Vanessa. They ran down two flights of stairs and came out on the penthouse main floor. Vanessa looked around quickly and spotted the other stairwell over by the elevator. She grumbled as she surveyed the area.

"Coast is clear," she said as the Hulk yelled again, followed by another banging/crashing sound. "For now."

The three women bolted across the room, avoiding debris where they could. It took all three of them to shove the door open when they reached it. Something or someone had been through against it and it was jammed. Once the door was free Darcy and Jane bolted through the opening. There was a crash behind them. Vanessa turned around to see a cloud of dust and a hole in the ceiling. Standing in the middle of it all was the Hulk. He shook his head and yelled again. He was joined a moment later by Thor. Who fell in a heap beside the green giant's feet. Jane gasped and tried to run from the stairwell.

"He's fine," said Vanessa grabbing the doctor's arm before she could get too far. "You are very, very fragile compared to just about everyone here. If you go out there you _will_ die. Understand?"

Jane nodded and stepped back into the stairwell.

"JARVIS, where is Pepper?" asked Vanessa.

"Ms. Potts left last night on a red-eye flight to D.C.," said the AI. "She is scheduled to return tomorrow afternoon."

Vanessa nodded her head. One less person to worry about. "Okay. The safe room is four floors down, gravity is on our side. Heaven forbid anything beat us there," said Vanessa.

There was another crash followed by a laugh. Vanessa turned to see a man clothes in green and gold silks, with a large gold helmet with horns. He was standing over Thor and laughing. The Hulk was M.I.A.

"Run!" Vanessa shouted at Jane and Darcy.

Both women took off down the cement stairwell. Vanessa turned to join them when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the door.

"And who are you?" asked the man.

"None of your fucking business, you crazy son of a bitch," said Vanessa.

"Such language. A lady should never use such language," he said with a sadistic chuckle.

"Who said I was a lady?" she said with a smirk.

She lifted her knee and shoved it into his crotch. The man dropped her and stepped back wheezing. God or not, that was going hurt in the morning. Vanessa didn't get a chance to revel in her glory before the Hulk came smashing through the wall behind her. She stood stock still hoping he wouldn't notice her. She could hear Tony flying around on the floor above, thanks to the giant hole in the floor.

"You stupid Bitch!" shouted Loki.

As Loki made a move for Vanessa the Hulk moved forward at a run. Vanessa ducked as a giant green arm came swinging around. Loki went flying into the steel elevator doors. He let out a grunt but didn't get up. Vanessa stayed in her crouched position while the Hull surveyed his work. He suddenly turned and stared at Vanessa. That was when Tony dropped though the ceiling and Thor regained consciousness.

Vanessa turned to look at Tony who was silently telling her to stay very still. Captain America came bursting through the stairwell doors, momentarily taking the Hulk's attention off of her. She slowly stood into a standing position but didn't dare move from her spot.

"Ms. Lewis and Dr. Foster are in the panic room on the Research and Development floor," he said.

The giant huffed and turned back to Vanessa. Loki started to stir, cursing as he did so. He growled when he saw Vanessa and lifted his scepter. Hulk turned and snatched it away, snapping it in two, before yelling/roaring and the slightly crippled man.

He turned back to Vanessa and walked over to her (he really only took two steps, but who's counting?). He reached a large hand out to her and lightly (as lightly as a 7 foot green giant can) patted her head.

"Nessa, safe," he said.

Tony raised an eyebrow at the exchange. Vanessa chuckled before she collapsed on the floor. Tony ran forward but the Hulk growled at him.

"Nessa, safe!" he said.

"Yes, Nessa safe," said Tony throwing his hands in the air. "Nessa also scared of bad guy," said Tony pointing to Loki who had a smirk on his face.

Hulk turned and growled at the man while Thor and Steve bound his hands.

"Now would be a great time to have the good doctor rejoin the group," said Tony looking at the Hulk.

Tony picked Vanessa up and carried her to the stairwell. He needed to check on Darcy and Dr. Foster as well.

* * *

Vanessa woke up with a pounding headache. When she opened her eyes she was met with bright lights. She groaned and closed her eyes again. She heard a chuckle.

"I need you to open your eyes," said a familiar voice. "I need to check and see if you have a concussion."

Vanessa groaned and reluctantly opened her eyes, "So it wasn't a horrible dream?"

"I'm afraid not," said the voice.

"How are Darcy and Jane? Did they make it to the safe room?" asked Vanessa.

"We're good. Jane forgot her code to get into R&D so it took five extra minutes, but we're safe," said Darcy.

"You try to think under pressure," said Jane.

Darcy broke out in song singing Queen & David Bowie's _Under Pressure_. She stopped after a moment. Vanessa could only assume that Dr. Foster had given Darcy _the look._

"Is she okay?" asked Jane.

"She seems to be okay. Just a few cuts from where she collapsed in the rubble, but it doesn't look to be anything permanent," said the voice.

It finally dawned on her that it was Dr. Banner who had been assessing her injuries.

"Good, we can have waffles then," said Darcy.

"I think the kitchen is totaled," said Tony walking in. "Can I have a moment to talk with Vanessa, alone."

There was a murmur of agreement before they left the room. Vanessa sat up on the couch and looked at Tony. Tony sighed and sat down next to her.

"You have a very interesting life," said Vanessa. "Very fast paced."

"What do you remember?" asked Tony.

"Uh…" Vanessa sat there for a moment and thought. "I was woken up by the alarm and then Darcy and Jane came barreling into my room. JARVIS said there was a safe room down on R&D. I remember telling the girls to run, but it gets a little fuzzy after that."

"Tell me what you can remember," said Tony rubbing his hands together.

"Are you okay?" asked Vanessa.

"Just…please," said Tony.

Vanessa sighed as she tried to remember what had happened. "Uh, that guy, Loki, he grabbed my arm. That's why I told them to run. He'd seen us. I kneed him in the crotch so he would let me go. Then the hulk showed up," said Vanessa. She sat for a moment as she though over what she remembered, or thought she remembered "Did he pat me on the head?" she asked.

Tony sighed. "Yeah. And said _"Nessa safe"_.

"Nessa safe?" she asked. "Why would he call me Nessa? Why would he care if I was safe. I thought I was going to be the next rag doll he tossed around."

"Believe me, I did too," said Tony. "But I think it has something to do with that kiss the other day. And Bruce knows I call you Nessa, so the Other Guy would too."

"Uh, huh," said Vanessa.

"I think you may need to talk to Bruce about this," said Tony.

"That's going to be a lovely conversation," said Vanessa dropping her head to the back of the couch.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this up. I JUST finished it. Been so busy with wedding plans I haven't had time to write. Hope you enjoy and dont forget to REVIEW! :-) ~Kat**


	6. Chapter 6

Vanessa laid low for the next three days. She hung out with Darcy (when Clint wasn't around) and Jane. Pepper was absolutely horrified to find out about Loki, and to see the apartment destroyed. She immediately went to work on reconstruction plans (again), and talked to Vanessa about what had happened.

"Tony is right," said Pepper. "You really should talk to Bruce about what happened, both times."

"A normal conversation is awkward with him," said Vanessa. "Try having one about why I kissed him and why his alter ego likes me. That's double, no triple, the awkwardness."

Pepper chuckled. "That may be true, but you still should do it."

Vanessa huffed as the red head left her room. Vanessa's room was one of the few rooms that hadn't received any damage. Darcy's room was another one. Lucky for Darcy, otherwise she would be crawling through the vents to Clint's room. Vanessa had to chuckle at that image.

* * *

The group had gone out for a night on the town. Vanessa had opted to stay in. She wasn't in a party mood. She was still stressing out about how she was going to talk to Bruce about their awkward encounters. She grabbed her yoga mat and made her way to the living room. They had the holes temporarily patched and the debris was cleared away. She found a level spot on the floor and unrolled her mat.

She grabbed the stereo remote, one of the very few remotes that Tony still owned, and turned on her playlist. She sighed as she stretched out her tense muscles. She was forgoing her pants for a pair of shorts; she was home alone after all. Once she had stretched she went into the poses that came naturally to her. From one pose to the next was a quick and fluid movement. She had been so wrapped up in what she was doing (and the current song playing) that she hadn't heard the elevator arrive.

"Oh, god," mutter Bruce when he saw her.

Vanessa stood up quickly and turned around at the sound of someone's voice.

"Holy shit, you scared me!" she shouted at him as she turned the stereo off. "What the hell are you still doing here!?"

"I…uh…well…" stumbled Bruce.

Vanessa took a deep, calming breath. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped. I just assumed since the rest of the team went out, you did too."

Bruce cleared his throat and fidgeted with the glasses he was holding in his hands. "No. I, uh, don't usually go out with them."

"Why not?" asked Vanessa stooping to pick up her mat.

"I didn't mean to disturb you," he said motioning to the mat.

"It's okay. I was doing it as a stress reliever," she said rolling it up and shrugging her shoulders.

"You, stressed?" he said with a half chuckle.

"Yeah, I get stressed to," she said. "Most people do. Look, I'm sorry I yelled. You just startled me, that's all. I'll see you around."

She tucked her mat under her arm and started to head for the other elevator. Bruce kept fidgeting with his glasses as she walked across the room. He really wanted to talk to her, but he didn't think he could do it while she was wearing tiny purple shorts. He cleared his throat to get her attention again.

"Do you think…uh…maybe we could…talk…" he said looking at his hands when he finished talking.

Vanessa took a deep breath, "Uh, yeah. Let me change. I'll meet you back here."

Bruce nodded as she turned to leave. _This is going to be awkward. Well more so than it usually would be_, he thought as he slid his glasses back on his face.

* * *

Vanessa tossed her yoga mat into the corner of her room as she practically ran in. She took a few deep calming breaths before she ran for the bathroom. She turned the shower on and jumped in before it was hot enough. She scrubbed the gunk from the day from her body and quickly jumped out again. She ran to her closet and started sifting through her clothes.

She stopped for a moment and stepped back from the closet. He just wanted to talk. He wasn't interested in her, right? She didn't have to run around impressing him, right? He was too old for her, right? She didn't even like him like that, right?

"I mean, that kiss was only to calm him down, right?" she said sinking to the floor in front of the closet. "It's not like I haven't been thinking about it. Wondering what it would be like if he had actually participated. What the hell am I thinking!" she jumped up and grabbed a pair of jeans and a purple tank top.

She surveyed the clothes she had hanging in her closet.

"That is the last time I let Annie pack for me. The girl likes too much purple!" said Vanessa as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail before she left the room.

* * *

Bruce was pacing the living room. He had to avoid the craters that he, and Thor, had put in the floors. But mostly it was his fault. Right? I mean, the other guy was just helping out the team. Loki was the bad guy after all. So why did he feel like shit for doing the right thing?

Vanessa cleared her throat when she entered the room. Bruce looked up at her from where he was staring at the crater in the floor. She walked over and stood next to him looking at the crater as well.

"Thor does leave a very distinctive imprint when he lands, doesn't he," she said.

"Huh?" said Bruce staring at her.

"Body," she said pointing to one crater. "Hammer," she said pointing to a smaller crater a few feet from the larger one. "Are you hungry?"

"UH, no. Thank you though," he said. "You are a really good cook."

"Darcy is in love with my waffle recipe," chuckled Vanessa as she walked over to the counter. "Don't tell her, but it comes from a Bisquick Box."

Bruce chuckled, "I won't."

Vanessa sat down on the couch. Bruce sat on the opposite end, putting a whole cushion between them. Vanessa folded her hands in her lap and sat silently. They both sat there in a very awkward silence for a few minutes.

"You, uh, wanted to talk?" she said after ten minutes.

She could only take sitting in a room so quiet for so long.

Bruce cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah."

"About?" she asked even though she had a pretty good idea.

"I wanted to apologize," he said.

"For what?" asked Vanessa.

"The other day," he said motioning to the craters in the floor.

"For Loki? You're apologizing because a bad guy attacked the tower?" she said with a chuckle. "I have a feeling that might happen a lot now. You shouldn't have to apologize every time it happens."

"No, not for that," said Bruce. "For what I did…to you."

Vanessa sat confused for a moment. "Are you talking about _him_ calling me Nessa?"

Bruce nodded, "And for scaring you."

"I'm not going to say I was freaking out," she said. "But that had more to do with the fact that some crazy ass dude wanted to kill me. Not the fact that you patted me on the head. And as far as the Nessa thing goes, it's a pet name. I don't care if you use it."

Bruce cleared his throat. "I'm still sorry.

Vanessa nodded knowing she wasn't going to win that argument.

"I have a question, though," he said.

"Hmm?" she said knowing he was fixing to bring up the kiss.

"Why, uh, why did you…" he started to say.

"Kiss you?" she asked, finishing his sentence.

He nodded his head.

She sat there and thought for a moment. She wanted to say it was because it would piss Tony off, but she wouldn't pick a possibly dangerous situation to do that in. So she was going with the truth.

"I wanted to," she said. "Granted when it first popped in my head I was going for a shock and awe mixed with confusion to calm you down or focus you on something else. I will say I was slightly wigged out at seeing you like that," she said moving over on the couch slightly. "But, I don't know…I don't really have a good reason for doing it, other than just 'cause."

Bruce had gone stock still once he'd notice she'd moved down the couch. She had slowly moved down the couch as she was talking. He would be lying if he'd spent most of the time trying not to look at her chest. And now that it was practically in his face he was having a really hard time not staring.

_Tony should invest in throw pillows_ thought Bruce as the placed his hands over his lap.

"Are you okay?" asked Vanessa laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Uh, yeah. I'm…I'm okay," he said shakily.

Vanessa frowned as she stared at him. He hadn't commented on her reason for kissing him. She leaned forward and tried to place her hand on his forehead when he jerked back.

"Not used to touching other people?" she said. "I was going to feel your forehead, you're starting to sweat."

"I, uh, need to get back to the lab," he said quickly.

And just as quickly he jumped up and ran for the stairs not waiting on the elevator to arrive. Vanessa frowned as she watched the door swing shut. She stood up and walked back to her room.

"JARVIS, does this TV show the camera recordings Tony has going on constantly?" she asked grabbing the remote.

"Every television is equipped with viewing capabilities," replied the AI.

"I want to see the conversation I just had with Bruce, please," she said sitting down on her couch.

The video popped up on the screen and she watched it over and over again. It was during the fourth viewing that she noticed it. He'd quickly placed his hands over his lap during a part of their conversation. It was a nervous habit, he was trying to hide something. Vanessa smiled as she turned the TV off. She was going to have to have another talk with the good doctor.

* * *

Bruce had gone M.I.A. According to JARVIS he was still in the tower but had requested that his exact location not be known unless in an emergency. Vanessa had been looking for him for almost two days, but he had somehow slipped through her fingers every time. She had a feeling that JARVIS was keeping tabs on her for Bruce, which is why she hadn't found him.

"What's for breakfast today?" asked Darcy plopping down at the bar.

"Food," said Vanessa as she cooked eggs.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Clint walking in and sitting at the opposite end of the bar.

"Nothin," she replied as she slid a plate of waffles over to Darcy.

"What about me?" asked Clint.

"Share with Darcy," said Vanessa.

Darcy smirked at Clint knowing he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize their relationship. She cut of a large bite of the waffle and shoved it in her mouth.

"Delicious," she said.

Clint frowned at her as Tony walked in.

"Waffles?" asked Tony.

"Pancakes," said Vanessa.

"How come she has waffles?" he asked.

"Cause I made her waffles," said Vanessa. "Eat."

"Can't. Got work to do," he said placing a kiss on her cheek before he disappeared from the kitchen.

Vanessa frowned as he left. Tony had been spending an awful lot of time in the lab lately. In fact he'd been missing meals and a movie night to be in the lab. She huffed as she piled food onto a plate and left the kitchen. Clint took the opportunity to snatch a waffle from Darcy's plate before Jane walked in. Darcy stuck her tongue out at him as she finished her breakfast. Jane knew about them. She didn't exactly approve of the relationship, but she wasn't going to stop two consenting adults.

* * *

Vanessa rode the elevator down to R&D. She told JARVIS not to warn Tony she was coming. The elevator opened up and she nodded to the lady sitting at the desk about ten feet away. They'd stopped asking her for identification after she blew up on some poor temp girl. She made her way to the lab that was strictly for Tony, Bruce and Jane. It had a thumb print scan so only a few people could actually get in the lab. She was one of them. She brought them food, so she was allowed.

As soon as she was through the door she heard tony shout and then something clang around. She shook her head as she walked over to his desk that was overrun by coffee mugs in various stages of emptiness. She set the plate down and grabbed the one he'd apparently used the night before to stack the mugs on.

"What are you doing in here?" asked Tony walking around the corner from Bruce's work area.

"Food," she said, pointing to the plate. "You need to eat. And if _he_ decides to come out of hiding I can bring _him_ a plate as well," she said loud enough for Bruce to hear her. He was standing on the other side of the stack of…well, whatever was stacked on the shelves. There was no telling what it was with Tony.

"Whose hiding?" asked Tony grabbing a piece of Bacon from the plate. "Don't know what you're talking about.

"I'll make you waffles," she said.

"Deal." He said. "Only way in is through that door," he said pointing to the one she'd just walked in. "He's over there somewhere," said Tony waving the piece of bacon towards Dr. Banner's work area. "Good luck finding him."

Vanessa nodded and made her way to his desk. She saw Bruce walk over to his desk and sit down and start messing with something on his computer. She knew he was hoping that if she thought he was working she would leave him alone. Fat chance that was gonna happen. She knew better.

"We need to talk," she said pushing the door open. "Aint no use trying to ignore me. I'm just as stubborn as Tony, if not worse. I will sit here all day until you acknowledge my presence."

She heard him sigh as she turned the monitor on his screen off, but he didn't turn around to face her.

"We're not going to do it here. The gang is going out again tonight. You're gonna have dinner with me upstairs in the dining room. You two have spent enough time down here. I think you have satisfied your need to be a hermit this week. If you don't show up I will come looking for you. I do have access to this lab, ya know," Vanessa said with a smirk.

"Okay," he said almost defeated.

"Dinner is at seven," she said before she left.

"Well?" asked Tony.

"Fuck off," she said.

* * *

**A/N: OH THE CLIFF HANGERS! :-) I promise they will "talk" in the next chapter. I honestly didn't expect this story to go on for seven chapters, but it looks like it's going to go farther than that. Hope you've enjoyed the ride so far. Please review and let me know what you think! ~Kat**


	7. Chapter 7

Vanessa waved to Darcy as she and Clint jumped onto the elevator to meet the group in the parking garage. She turned and headed back to the kitchen to finish cooking dinner. She wasn't lying when she'd said she would go after him if he didn't show up. But true to his word he came walking into the dining room exactly at seven.

She nodded to a seat at the brand new table, thanks to Pepper. He took a seat and waited quietly for her to join him. She brought in a covered dish and then returned a moment later with a bottle of white wine. She poured herself a glass and silently offered Bruce one as well. He declined as she took her seat.

They ate in silence. And for once it wasn't an awkward silence although it probably should've been. When they were finished she grabbed both plates and disappeared into the kitchen. She returned a few moments later with two cups of coffee. She placed one in front of him and the other at her seat. She went back into the kitchen and brought out two small slices of pie. She set one in front of him but didn't expect him to eat. She set the other in front of her seat before she rejoined him at the table.

"Why did you bolt the other day?" she asked suddenly.

Bruce inhaled the coffee he was sipping at her blatant question. Definitely like Tony, doesn't beat around the bush. He set the cup back on the saucer and wiped his mouth. He didn't know how to answer without embarrassing himself.

"Well?" she said looking at him over her own cup of coffee. "It was very rude."

"I apologize," he said grabbing the cup again.

"Why did you do it?" she asked. "And don't give me some BS reason about work. I know that's not true. I'm not stupid."

No, she definitely wasn't stupid, he had to agree with that.

"I, uh, find that I am uncomfortable…uh…in, well…" he stumbled.

"You're uncomfortable being around me?" she asked setting her cup down.

_ People who are uncomfortable don't pop a boner in the middle of a conversation!_ she thought.

"NO! Uh, No," he said. "It's not that," said Bruce quickly.

"If you say _'It's not you, it's me'_, I might actually throw something at you," she said.

Bruce chuckled. He was in fact about to say that. And to avoid having hot coffee thrown on him he went in a different direction.

"You have a nice body," he said.

"I…what?" she said caught off guard by what he'd said.

"And you are aware of it. You obviously take care of it, otherwise you wouldn't be doing yoga at 7:30 in the morning, every morning."

"I, uh, thank you," she said. "You'd never believe that I was the fat girl in high school."

"Uhm, don't take this the wrong way," he said. "But I would," he said. "Before you blow up, let me finish. The way you take care of yourself means that there was a good reason for it. But, uh, like I said you have a nice body."

"You think I'm hot!" she said catching on to what he was admitting.

"I, uh…" he said.

"I knew you were staring at my boobs!" she shouted this time. "So you going to fess up to it?" she asked suddenly.

"Wh-what?" he said.

She noticed he'd gotten the "deer in the head lights" look when she'd asked her question.

"You know what I'm referring to," she said. "I knew you were slightly attracted to me. I went back and had JARVIS replay the security video from our conversation. And before you freak out, it's Tony for Christ's sake. He's got camera's just about everywhere. So?"

Bruce sat very still and stayed very quiet. He was hoping that there weren't hidden cameras in his room. But, knowing Tony, there probably were camera's in every room except the bathrooms. He cleared his throat before he spoke.

"I, uh…well…" he started.

Vanessa had cleared away the coffee cups while he had his moment. As she walked back into the room she moved to his side of the table. He gulped nervously as she sat down next to him. It didn't help that she'd chosen another low cut top and a pair of tight fitting jeans to wear to dinner. He was slowly losing his cool, and that probably wasn't a good thing with The Other guy lurking below the surface.

"I think I need to leave," he said standing up abruptly and leaving.

Vanessa stared at him opened mouthed as he practically ran from the room. She sat there only a few moments more before she took off after him. She knew where is room was. Pepper had told her where everyone was staying, in case of emergency.

She ran up the stairs because she knew he'd taken the elevator. But he'd beat her by only a few seconds. His door closed the moment she reached it. She grabbed the handle and jiggled it, but the door wouldn't open. It was lock.

"JARVIS, are you able to unlock the door?" she asked.

"Certainly," he said.

"Please?" she said jiggling the handle again.

"You would need the override codes for me to do it," he said.

"Ugh," she said banging her forehead on Bruce's door.

She stood there and thought for a moment. Tony had been babbling on about something the other night. She'd only been half listening and she was wishing now she'd been listening completely. He had been saying something about codes and birthdays. Then it hit her. Aside from himself, there were two people he cared about more. She smiled as she stood up.

"Let's see," she said mumbling to herself. "Would it be, 08-281987-05-151972?"

"No ma'am," said the AI.

"05-151972-08-281987?" she said.

"No, ma'am," he replied again.

She thought for a moment. Tony wouldn't make it that easy. She smiled then, "828-63772-515-76887?"

"Yes, ma'am," said JARVIS.

She smirked when she heard the lock click and the door swing open. Bruce was sitting on his bed with his pillow draped over his lap. He was just staring at her.

"How did you get in?" he asked.

"I knew the override codes," she said. "Although it took me a few tries to actually figure it out. Tony has to be a pain in the ass about shit like that."

Bruce just continued to stare at her.

"We aren't done talking," she said.

She closed the door behind her and locked it. Hopefully no one else new the code and Tony didn't come barging in the room for some stupid reason.

She sat down next to Bruce on the bed and he held the pillow closer to his body. She smirked as she laid her head on his shoulder and her hand on his knee.

"That's the second time you ran out in the middle of a conversation," she said. "I'm really beginning to think you don't like me as much as you say you do."

"It's…I, uh…" stammered Bruce.

Vanessa sat up straight and grabbed the pillow that he was clutching in his lap. With one good jerk she had the pillow and tossed it to the other side of the room. Bruce dropped his hands to his lap, and Vanessa smiled.

"Bruce, tell me how you really feel," she said, all playing gone from her face and voice.

He cleared his throat but didn't answer her. She put her hand back on his knee. He twitched. She could've sworn she heard a growl as well. She tossed the thought aside as her hand slowly traveled up the man's thigh. His breathing had picked up as well. She smiled to herself as she squeezed his thigh, just inches from his fully erect member.

"Bruce, is there something you want to share with me?" she whispered in his ear.

Vanessa slid her hand over to his crotch and gave it a gentle squeeze. The man sitting next to her let out a small moan of pleasure and she did it again. This time she was almost positive she heard a growl. She took a moment to look up at his face. About that time he grabbed her wrist and pulled it away from his body. When she was able to get a good look at his face she noticed that his eyes had gone from brown to green. The Other guy was close by, that's why she'd heard growling.

Vanessa pulled her hand out of his griped and slid until she was a good three feet from his body, which put her on the edge of the large bed.

"Bruce?" she asked with a worried tone. "Bruce, are you okay?"

After a moment of silence he finally answered. "I'm…I'm okay. I think it's best if you leave."

Vanessa nodded ash quickly stood up and left the room, making sure to lock the door behind her as she left.

* * *

**A/N: Here is chapter 7! Hope you enojyed it! Sorry it took so long to update! I'm working on chapter 8 now! ~Kat**


	8. Chapter 8

Vanessa sat at the dining room table alone. Tony had ordered take out and everyone had grabbed their order and went off to various rooms. Vanessa hadn't touched her sushi and if she didn't put it in the fridge soon she wouldn't be able to eat it at all. She sighed as she stood up from the table and walked into the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" asked Pepper walking in a moment later. "You've been acting a little off since last night. And you were practically holed up in your room today. So what's going on?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," she said closing then fridge. "I think I'm going to head home. I've been here long enough and I think I'm disrupting the flow of things by staying."

"Tell that to Tony," said Pepper. "The same number of explosions and accidents has happened even though you've been here. I just don't think you're disrupting anything."

"Oh, I don't know about that," said Vanessa leaving Pepper alone in the kitchen.

Pepper frowned as the girl disappeared around the corner. "JARIVS?"

"Yes, Miss Potts?" responded the AI.

"What happened last night while we were out of the house?" she asked.

"Would you like the security feeds sent to you iPad, Miss Potts?" asked the AI.

"Please," said Pepper. "Only the ones with Vanessa present, preferably."

"Of course," said JARVIS.

A moment later Peppers iPad light up with the security videos. Pepper plugged in her head phones as she sat and watched the interactions between Bruce and Vanessa from the night before. Pepper frowned when the next video to pop up on her screen was Bruce in his room. A moment later Vanessa walked in a sat on the bed next to him. Pepper's eyes bugged out of her head when she watched what had occurred behind closed doors. She turned off the tablet and practically ran to Vanessa's room.

"Vanessa! Vanessa, open the door!" shouted Pepper practically banging on the door.

She jiggled the handle but nothing happened.

"JARVIS, I need you to unlock the door," she said before she spouted off the ridiculously long security code.

The door clicked as the lock disengaged and Pepper barreled into the room. Vanessa was sitting on the small sofa and staring at the TV. She wasn't paying attention to the cartoon that was flashing across the screen.

Pepper started to close the door when Darcy and Jane walked in. The door latched and the lock reengaged as the three women sat on the sofa and the accompanying chair and sat in silence.

"I know what happened," said Pepper.

"I don't want to talk about it," said Vanessa. "I have my flight scheduled for tomorrow afternoon."

"Does Tony know?" asked Pepper.

"He will find out when a car comes to pick me up in the morning," said Vanessa. "I really should get back home."

Pepper nodded her head. "JARVIS, I think we will have a girl's movie night in here."

"Yes, Miss Potts," said the AI and the movie list appeared on the screen.

"You pick the movie and Jane and I will get snacks," said Pepper.

Pepper and the doctor stood up and left the room, leaving Darcy with the remote.

"So what happened that you don't want to talk about, but I'm going to bug you about until you tell me since Pepper already knows," asked Darcy as she scrolled through the ridiculous list of movies.

"Nothing," said Vanessa.

"I call bullshit," said Darcy. "Comedy?"

"Sure," replied Vanessa.

"It must have something to do with Bruce," said Darcy. "You two were the only ones left here last night. Unless it's a matter from home."

"First one, but like I said, I don't want to talk about it," said Vanessa.

Pepper and Jane returned shortly after that. Jane had an arm load of sweet snacks and a large bowl of popcorn while Pepper had the other bowl of popcorn and a few different bottles of alcohol. Vanessa smiled. Pepper knew how to make her feel better.

* * *

"Okay, enough pouting," said Darcy as she swayed next to the couch. "We've practically drank all the wine and the better tasting liquors in this house…" she said swaying again before she dropped down on the couch. "Tell us what's up."

"I…no…" said Vanessa putting her glass on the table. When she stood up she swayed and then quickly sat back down. "It doesn't matter. He told me to leave. He doesn't like me!"

"Oh, that's not true," said Pepper, though she was drunk too, she was more sober then the other two. ladies.

"Yes it is!" Vanessa practically shouted. "You saw it. I practically molested him and he almost turned into the Other guy," she said grabbing the bottle of Jack. "He hates me."

"Whoa, what?" said Darcy sobering slightly. "You and Bruce? Seriously?"

Vanessa nodded.

"Oh…wow…molested? Really?" asked Darcy.

"JARVIS, if you don't mind," said Pepper.

The TV screen flipped over to the video of Vanessa and Bruce from earlier in the day. Darcy watched open mouthed at the scene unfolding in front of her. All too quickly the screen went black and they all sat there in silence. The silence was broken only a few moments later by an urgent knock the bedroom door.

Vanessa stood up clumsily and answered the door. It was Tony and he was in his Iron Man suit. And he was already dented in some places.

"What…what happened to you?" she asked trying not to sway.

"Have you been drinking?" asked Tony. "Never mind, I, uh, need your help."

"With what?" she asked

"Bruce," said Tony.

"No, I should definitely keep my distance from him. He's not happy with me right now," she said with a sad look.

"I don't know what's happened between you two, but if someone doesn't find a way to calm him down or put him out of his misery he's going to go full blown Hulk and destroy my labs. Now get your ass in gear!" shouted Tony before turning to walk away.

Vanessa stood there for a moment before she practically ran from the room and down the stairs. She met Tony on the main floor of the penthouse and rode the elevator down to R&D. She could hear the fight before she ever reached the private lab. She quickly scanned her thumb and ran in. She stopped short of her destination when Thor went crashing across the room, knocking over a very expensive robot.

"Damn it, Dum. E.!" shouted Tony.

The robot twitched but Vanessa ignored it after she saw Bruce. "What happened?" she asked Tony.

"I don't know. Jane paged me saying that Bruce had flipped his shit," said Tony. "She's hiding in the panic room," he said pointing to a bare section of wall.

Vanessa nodded and walked over to the room. She opened the door to see Jane huddled in the corner. She walked in and sat down next to the terrified doctor.

"What happened?" she asked quietly.

Jane took a few deep breaths before she answered. "Bruce and I were working and one of the lab techs came in. There are very few who have access to this lab. Anyway, he was helping Bruce with something when he made a comment about you."

"Me? How would he know who I am? I'm rarely down here," said Vanessa.

"Bruce has, or had I don't know what happened to it, a picture of you on his desk or computer or something," said Vanessa.

"Which picture?" asked Vanessa.

Tony had a lot of pictures of Vanessa on his home server and anyone with access to it would have access to those pictures, including Bruce.

"A skiing picture, I think. There was lots of snow," said Jane trying to remember. "When Andrew said something about the picture Bruce lost it. I ran for here after paging Tony."

Vanessa nodded and stood up to leave. "When I open the door, you run for the hallway. I will send Thor after you, understand?  
Jane nodded. Vanessa sighed and opened the door. She stepped out to check the area, the fight was far from the outside door. She nodded to Jane and the doctor took off like a bat out of hell. Thor turned at the right moment to see Jane fleeing from the lab. Vanessa nodded in the woman's direction and Thor took off after her. That left Tony, Bruce and Vanessa in the lab.

"Tony, Leave," said Vanessa slowly walking over to her cousin.

"Not a chance in hell," said Tony bracing himself for the Hulks attack.

"You wanted me help, so leave," she said. "And turn the damned camera's off!"

Tony stood there for a moment before he agreed and left the lab and had JARVIS turn the camera's off in the lab. Vanessa locked the door behind Tony and turned around. Bruce had made the transformation into the Other Guy and he was pissed off.

"Hi," she said weakly as she walked over to him.

He grunted at her in response.

"I'm going to sit down over here, okay?" she said as she sat down on the floor.

Her heart rate was well above normal, but she wasn't going to show him fear, that would make things worse. As she got comfortable she took her shoes off and pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them.

The Hulk watched her as she made herself comfortable on the floor. The heavy breaths had slowed to something of a normal pace. This was the girl. She was good. She was safe. He mimicked her and sat down on the floor. He knocked a few things off the desks with the thump that accompanied him.

Vanessa sighed when she watched him sit down. She smiled at him and he grunted again.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He grunted in response. She was taking that as a yes.

"What happened?" she asked trying not to look around the room at the catastrophe that was the lab.

"Nessa mine," he said in his deep voice.

"Wh-what?" she said looking at him

"Hulk like Nessa," he said.

Vanessa nodded. She knew what she had to do, "Nessa like Hulk," she said as she slid across the floor to him. She placed her hand on his arm. "Nessa like Bruce, too."

The green man stared at her and she could see the color of his eyes start to change. Over the course of the next few minutes the Hulk shrunk down into Dr. Banner. He looked ragged and beat, but he was still just staring at her. He opened his mouth to say something when she leaned up and kissed him. She pulled back and watched his expression.

"I don't think that…." He started to say.

"Then stop thinking," she said. "That's your problem. You think way too much. You over thought it the other day which caused the panic attack."

"I'm really sorry about that," said Bruce.

"I'm gonna make you feel really bad, I got drunk with Darcy and Pepper after that incident," said Vanessa. "So, they kinda know about it."

Bruce dropped his head into his hands and groaned.

"So I apologize for that," said Vanessa. "But we are in the now. And right now we are alone in the lab. Everyone is locked out and the cameras are off. Here is where you make a decision. You can tell me I should go, and I will get up and leave. I have a flight scheduled for this afternoon. Or you can ask me to stay. But the choice is yours.

Bruce sat there for a moment thinking over what Vanessa had said. He knew what he really wanted but he wanted to keep her safe from the Other Guy. He took a deep breath and looked up at her.

"Vanessa, I think you should…"

* * *

**A/N: CLIFF HANGER! :-) Hope you enjoyed chapter 8. I will start on chapter 9 soon. Please review and let me know what you think! ~Kat**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry it has taken so long to update. But here is the long awaited chapter and Bruce's decision. Enjoy! ~Kat**

* * *

_"So I apologize for that," said Vanessa. "But we are in the now. And right now we are alone in the lab. Everyone is locked out and the cameras are off. Here is where you make a decision. You can tell me I should go, and I will get up and leave. I have a flight scheduled for this afternoon. Or you can ask me to stay. But the choice is yours._

_ Bruce sat there for a moment thinking over what Vanessa had said. He knew what he really wanted but he wanted to keep her safe from the Other Guy. He took a deep breath and looked up at her._

* * *

"Vanessa, I think you should…" said Bruce looking down at his lap. "Can I put pants on first?"

"Nope, now answer my question before Tony decides he wants to come back down here," said Vanessa. "Because you know it's bound to happen just because he's nosey."

Bruce chuckled at that. After a moment he stopped laughing but the smile remained on his face. Vanessa was still smiling from her joke as well. She was taken by surprise when Bruce leaned over and kissed her. When he pulled back she just stared at him.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that…I just thought…you know since…" stammered Bruce.

Vanessa smiled and leaned over and pulled him into another kiss. She moaned when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his semi-naked lap. He was hard again. Vanessa ground her hips into his and he moaned into her mouth. She ran her tongue across his bottom lip and he opened his mouth to her. She ran her hands through his hair as he gripped the back of her neck and her hips to pull her closer.

Bruce left her lips and started to kiss his way across her jawline and then down her neck biting occasionally. Vanessa moaned and ground her hips into his every time he bit her neck. She slowly trailed her hands down his chest and past his hips to his aching member. Bruce gasped in pleasure when she grasped him and started to move her hands up and down his shaft.

"Oh, God," he moaned.

"You can call me Nessa," she said with a smirk.

Bruce chuckled as he pulled her hand from him. Vanessa frowned as she watched him stand up. He reached his hand out to her and helped her off the floor. He pulled her close again and kissed her before he led her to the bare space on the wall that led to the panic room.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"It's a lot more comfortable in here than it is on that floor," said Bruce as the door slid open.

Now that Vanessa has a chance to actually look around the panic room she noticed that there was a full sized bed against the left wall and another door. Upon inspection, it was a small bathroom.

"He really goes for the comforts in his panic room doesn't he," chuckled Vanessa.

"Hmm," said Bruce wrapping his arms around her.

Vanessa leaned her head back onto his shoulder as he started to kiss her neck again. Slowly one of his hands slid down her torso, past her belly button and to the treasure between her legs. Vanessa moaned when he ran his finger across her clit.

"Mmm, you're so wet," whispered Bruce in her ear. "Is this all for me?" he asked sliding his finger over her clit again.

"Oh, god yes," she moaned.

Bruce turned her around and tossed her back onto the bed. Vanessa landed with a slight bounce as Bruce walked over to the edge of the bed. His member was resting against his belly. Vanessa eyed it as he climbed on the bed with her. He wedged himself between her legs and leaned forward until his hips were resting against hers and his cock was lying on her belly.

"Please…" she said lifting her hips up to get some kind of friction.

Bruce chuckled as he lined his dick up with her slick opening. With one quick push he was sheathed inside her. Vanessa gripped his shoulders as she cried out in please. Bruce has his head resting on her shoulder. It had been too long since he'd been in this kind of situation. If he didn't get a hold of himself it would all end too quickly.

After another moment Vanessa rolled her hips causing Bruce to gasp in pleasure. He pulled back and slammed into her again, getting the same reaction. He repeated the action over and over again.

"Oh, God!" she exclaimed as he hit her G-Spot.

"You can call me Bruce," he said as he slammed into her again.

"Fast…faster," she said.

Bruce complied and rammed into her faster. He was close and he could tell she was, too. Her eyes started to roll to the back of her head as he reached between them and ran his thumb across her clit. Her hips bucked upwards as she exclaimed. He kept doing it until he felt her inner wall start to clamp and ripple around him.

"I'm cumming…" she moaned as the shockwaves hit her.

"Oh…god…" he said as he released his seed into her.

After a moment he pulled out of her and rolled to the side before he plopped down on the bed. They were both breathing hard as they lay there on the bed.

"That was…fantastic," said Vanessa slightly out of breath. "We should definitely do that more often."

Bruce chuckled as he sat up on the bed. He looked around for a moment before he stood up and touched a button on the bedside table. A section of the wall slid open revealing a set of five shelves. He grabbed a pair of sweat pants off the third shelf and pulled them on. He tossed Vanessa her clothes.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she pulled her clothes back on.

"I don't think Tony is going appreciate that we christened his bed, and he's sure as hell isn't going to let us stay in here to do it again," said Bruce. "That is, if you want to."

"Many more times," she said pulling him from the room.

* * *

"Nessa! Where are you Nessa?" said Tony walking through the penthouse. "Nessa!"

Vanessa rolled over in bed. She smiled when she ran into another body. She groaned when she heard Tony shouting out her name. She felt the body next to her shift and felt the chuckle.

"What's so funny?" she asked tossing the covers over her head.

"Tony," said Bruce. "The one place he hasn't looked is in here. He's been all over the penthouse looking for you."

"How long have you been awake?" asked Vanessa.

"About an hour," he said kissing her forehead. "But I do need to get down to the lab. I was in the middle of something when…"

"I understand. I will bring you breakfast and coffee," she said sliding out of the bed and grabbing her clothes.

* * *

"Where have you been?" asked Tony when he walked into the kitchen.

"In bed," said Vanessa as she plated some eggs.

"I checked your room," said Tony grabbing a piece of toast. "You weren't there," he said around the mouthful of toast.

"I didn't say I was in my bed, either," she said grabbing the coffee mug off the counter. "Help yourself to the rest," she said as she left an open mouthed Tony in the kitchen.

* * *

"Good morning," said Vanessa setting the plate on one of the side tables. "Here is your coffee," she said kissing his cheek.

"There is a phone call for you Ms. Vanessa," said JARVIS.

"Okay. I will get it in my room," said Vanessa leaving the labs.

Vanessa bypassed everyone as she went to her room. Knowing Tony and his big mouth the word had spread that she and Bruce had bunked together last night. She sighed as she closed the door to her room and grabbed the phone off the couch.

"Hello?" she said.

"Oh, good you answered!" said the voice on the other end.

"Yeah. What's up Kristie?" asked Vanessa.

"We need you to come home," said her friend.

"Why? What's up?" asked Vanessa for the second time.

"It's Damien," said Kristie as her voice started to break.

Damien was Kristie's little brother. Vanessa had considered him her pseudo-little brother as well. When she heard Kristie start to cry she sank down onto the couch.

"Kris, what happened?" asked Vanessa.

"He was in an accident," said her friend. "He's still at the hospital, but they aren't hopeful."

"I'm coming home," said Vanessa.

As soon as she was off the phone she grabbed her suit case and started throwing her clothes into it. When she was sure she had the essentials she headed for the door.

"JARVIS," she said stopping short of the door. "Let Bruce know what's going on when he asks about me, please."

"Of course," said the AI.

Vanessa ran from her room and down the emergency stairs. She was happy when she found the common room empty and jumped on the elevator. Tony had shared the override codes for the elevator, and she punched them in as she took it straight to the bottom floor. Once there she went out the front door of Avenger's Tower and headed straight to the airport.

* * *

"Where is Vanessa?" asked Pepper as they sat down at the table.

"I don't know. I haven't seen here since this morning," said Tony. "Bruce?"

"What? I haven't seen her since she brought breakfast down to the lab," said Bruce.

"JARVIS?" said Tony.

"Ms. Vanessa left this morning at 9:52. She received a distressing phone call from a Kristie McBride. She told me to let Mr. Banner know when he asked for her," said the AI.

'Kristie McBride?" said Tony.

Pepper rolled her eyes, "She's the girl who let Vanessa move in with her family. She has a brother and a step-sister."

"Oh, right," said Tony. "Blonde hair, big chest. I remember her now."

Again Pepper rolled her eyes. "Did she say when she would be returning?"

"No, she did not, ma'am," said JARVIS.

Bruce looked down at his plate but didn't say anything. At least she left a note, sort of.

* * *

**A/N: Dun-dun-dun! ANother cliff hanger. This one isn't as bad as the last one. BUT I promise she comes back in the next chapter! Please Review! ~Kat**


	10. Chapter 10

**6 Months later**

The team was sitting in the living room trying to relax after the last mission. Tony had an ice pack on his lap and winced every time some plopped down on the couch.

"Sir, there is someone coming up the elevator," said JARVIS.

The whole team tensed but no one moved from the couch. SHIELD had a bad habit of sending someone over without telling them. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Tony smiled when he saw her step out of the elevator.

"What happened to you guys?" she asked as she dropped her bags on the floor.

Bruce's head snapped over in the direction of the elevator. Whatever pain he's been feeling at that point didn't matter. He ran across the room and picked Vanessa up and hugged her.

"Did you miss me?" she asked when she was back on her feet.

"You have no idea," he said kissing her.

"Aw," said Darcy. "Y'all are so cute!"

Vanessa looked at Darcy. Darcy clammed up. She and Clint were still in hiding, or so she thought.

"Now, if only Clint would do that when Darcy disappears for a few weeks," said Tony.

"Wha!? I-I don't know what…" stammered Darcy.

"We all know," said Pepper. "It's not a big deal."

Darcy collapsed on the couch and covered her face with a pillow.

"Right, so am I still in the same room or should I find a hotel?" asked Vanessa. "Granted I don't think I can afford to live in a hotel unless it's one of those seedy pay by the hour kind of hotels."

"Live?" asked Pepper.

"Yeah. I got hired on as a full time researcher at my old job. They flew me out here, but I have to find my own place to live."

"I know just the place," said Bruce picking her up and tossing her over his shoulder.

"Never mind, I think I found a place to stay!" she shouted from around the corner.

Bruce dropped her on her feet next to the second elevator.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you when I left," she said. "There was just so much going on."

"How are things?" asked Bruce.

"Good. Kristie and Janice are coping. Melinda is in the psych ward of the local hospital for observations. But overall they are doing a lot better. But right now, I'm focused on you," she said pulling him into a kiss. "And God help Tony if he interrupts."

Bruce chuckled as they stepped onto the elevator.

* * *

**A/N: This is the last chapter in this story. Hope you enojyed it. It went on a lot longer than i had originally expected. Please Review! ~Kat**


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